CH 5.1

She recalled the day when she was 23 years old.

Se-ha was sitting in the room of chief of staff Nam Hyun-ryong, who was the arms and legs of chairman Jang Dae-ho who had the power to move the control tower that was this huge masterpiece. He was overjoyed when Se-ha announced that she would come join the secretary team. 

“Since the founding of Myung Hwa Group, there has never been an employee who has achieved better grades than you. It was brilliant of you to acquire the business of Company H’s by creating public opinion. Even the chairman is paying attention to you. You made an excellent choice coming to the secretary’s office. Everyone wants you, so you can make the call.”

Would it be better to go to Jang Ji-ho’s semiconductor division and fight head-to-head? But jumping in with nothing was suicidal. It might be better to follow Jang Tae-hwon and build up her strength. Or should she follow the chief of staff?

“I…”

She decided. Any other route would just eat up time. The quickest and most efficient way to turn a group upside down was to create chaos from within.

“I will go to Managing Director Jang Kwon-woo of Masterpiece Hotel.”

And…badger game.

“Jang Kwon-woo…director?”

At the time, Nam Hyun-ryong was genuinely surprised that she chose Jang Kwon-woo, who was the managing director of the hotel.

She sputtered out plausible words that described her passion to work hard as she was still young and help in the gaining of strength to the hotel affiliates, which was weak compared to its competitors, and that she wanted to make use of her experience of an internship at a hotel during her college days…

But in the end, it was to use her beauty against him.

At that time, the chairman’s first son, Jang Tae-hwon, was married by arrangement a few years ago, and the second, Jang Tae-kyung, was also preparing to get engaged.

Jang Ji-ho, the only son of Vice Chairman Jang Tae-ui, was living abroad since middle school and did not return, so he was far away from the fight for succession of Myeong Hwa Group.

So, to make use of her looks, Jang Kwon-woo was the only option at the time.

Fortunately, Jang Kwon-woo had the features she liked the most among the brothers at first glance. If possible, she wanted to choose a good-looking man who wielded enough influence to sway the group.

Of course, there were other reasons to choose Jang Kwon-woo other than his good looks.

Jang Kwon-woo was the third son of the chairman whom no one considered as a competitor. This meant that even if she became Kwon-woo’s secretary and approached the group, she wouldn’t be conspicuous. There was no better choice than Jang Kwon-woo to wreak vengeance step by step as planned without being noticed by anyone.

And…She recalled the image of Jang Kwon-woo when she saw him during training for new employees.

The memory of that day had the biggest influence in choosing Kwon Woo. If it wasn’t for that, she wouldn’t have thought that Kwon-woo had potential. He was a person who had the power to flourish if polished well enough.

Trying not to show such ambition, she smiled as innocently as possible.

“Yes, I want to work hard for Myeong Hwa Group by becoming the secretary of Managing Director Jang Kwon-woo.”

Myeonghwa Group and her ill-fated relationship went back a long time.

Seha’s grandfather, Ki Young-tae, earned a doctorate from Ohio State University in the US and worked at a semiconductor research institute for a US cell phone company. He was a brilliant process developer.

In the late ’70s her grandfather came back to Korea. And he succeeded in designing a specific layout of a memory cell integrated circuit, which was groundbreaking at the time. In addition, he devised a fabless business model that created a manufacturing process with relatively low cost and technology without owning a large production line.

Ki Young-tae was preparing to start a business with his daughter Ki Ha-jeong, who studied the same field.

And then there was Jang Ji-h, in the same college as Ki Ha-Jeong, who had just started a relationship with her at the time. Ki Young-tae and Ki Ha-jeong opened their hearts to Jang Ji-ho, who wanted to learn their work and do business together.

But something tragic had happened. Jang Ji-ho betrayed them and fled after stealing essential and necessary documents for business and related documents prepared for filing a patent.

But it did not end there. Tragedy happened after Ki Young-tae fought to stop him from stealing the documents. Ki Young-tae, who was pushed by Jang Ji-ho’s force and hit his head, suffered brain damage and died shortly thereafter.

After arriving at the scene a step too late and hearing her father’s will that contained everything that happened, Ki Ha-jeong was furious and tried to sue him, but Jang Ji-ho was brazen.

“Do you have proof I stole it? I studied, planned, and designed it myself.”

“A-Are you serious?”

“Sue me if you can, but I highly doubt you’ll find any evidence against me.”

“Jang Ji-ho!”

“And why would I kill your father? Don’t point the finger at me for a simple accident!”

Ki Ha-jeong was blocked by his bodyguards and could not even approach him.

It turned out that Jang Ji-ho, pretending to be Ki Ha-jeong’s lover, was the second son of a famous cargo company, Jang Chun-eog. Myung Hwa Industrial was just about to start a semiconductor business, and Jang Ji-ho had approached Ki Ha-jeong and acted as an industrial spy with the intention of stealing the technology from the beginning.

Myeong Hwa Industrial was not a prominent company at that time as it was an ordinary mid-sized company that focused on clothing and textiles. However, they began to scoop in huge amounts of money as they thrived on the stolen blueprints and business model.

“Sure, you can be greedy. Money can be earned. But…But they shouldn’t have killed my father for it…!

Kii Ha-jeong was filled with suffering. It was more unbearable that no one recognized the unjust death of her father, whom she greatly admired, than losing the technology.

Around that time, she met her husband, Yoon Se-jun. After meeting him, Ki Ha-jeong regained some hope. However, while trying to persuade Ki Ha-jeong that she should get over the past, they had a huge fight, and that night he ran out and lost his life in an unexpected accident.